marathon
/ˈmæɹəθən/
"marathon" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“marathon” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,520 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,520
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | marathon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmæɹəθən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #5,520 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “marathon” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for marathon is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmæɹəθən/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,520 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for marathon, with forms such as "amrathon", "maarthon", and "marahton". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Marston", "Marathi", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French marathon, coined in 1894 by linguist Michel Bréal for the first modern time Olympic Games after Ancient Greek Μαραθών (Marathṓn), a town northeast of Athens. Phidippides the Greek ran the distance from Marathon to Athens to deliver a message reg… The correct English form is marathon, spelled M-A-R-A-T-H-O-N.
Definition
- 1A 42.195-kilometre (26-mile-385-yard) road race.
- 2Any extended or sustained activity.
Etymology
From French marathon, coined in 1894 by linguist Michel Bréal for the first modern time Olympic Games after Ancient Greek Μαραθών (Marathṓn), a town northeast of Athens. Phidippides the Greek ran the distance from Marathon to Athens to deliver a message regarding the Battle of Marathon. The modern sport of marathon running is based on a run approximately the same distance. The toponym itself comes from μάραθον (márathon, “fennel”) and refers to the prevalence of the plant in the area.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amrathon,maarthon,marahton,marathhon,marathno,marathonn,maratohn,maratthon,marrathon,martahon,mmarathon,mraathon
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of marathon - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “marathon”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-R-A-T-H-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmæɹəθən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Marston” - see the side-by-side comparison. marathon vs Marston
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.